A Supreme Court decision this week upheld a lower Federal court ruling that allows local governments to pass ordinances requiring verification to keep illegal aliens out of jobs and out of apartments, if written like the two in Fremont, Nebraska. (Read more here.)

"The Supreme Court let stand an emphatic decision in the Eighth Circuit that rejected every argument on the merits that the ACLU and MALDEF threw at the Ordinance," attorney Kris Kobach said. "The Ordinance requires all businesses in the city to use E-Verify and it requires all tenants to obtain an occupancy license. In cases where the tenant is not a US citizen, the city then checks the aliens immigration status with the federal government, and if the alien is unlawfully present, revokes the license."

The decision allows any state and/or local municipality to take a few immigration enforcement actions on their own, despite the federal government's lack of enforcement. The Obama administration can halt nearly all deportations, but states, counties, and towns can protect their unemployed and underemployed residents by requiring businesses to only hire legal workers and blocking their ability to rent a house or apartment.